Sensor for communicating with refrigerator and control system for refrigerator including the sensor

ABSTRACT

Provided is a sensor package in a refrigerator configured to provide information related to refrigerated food. The sensor package may include a body having a mark classified by a type of food allocated to the sensor package and indicating the type of food of a food to which the sensor package is coupled, a battery, an operation switch, a memory configured to store food information corresponding to the type of food corresponding to the mark, a sensor communication module that communicates with a display provided in the refrigerator, a sensing module that senses state information associated with the food, and a sensor control module that controls the sensor communication module to initiate communication between the sensor package and the display of the refrigerator based on the state information sensed by the sensing module.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(a), this application claims the benefit ofearlier filing date and right of priority to Korean Application No.10-2016-0011848, filed on Jan. 29, 2016, the contents of which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a sensor package and a refrigeratorincluding the sensor package, and particularly, to a sensor package thatsenses various types of information related to food within arefrigerator, and transmitting or receiving such information to and fromthe refrigerator, and a refrigerator including the sensor package.

2. Background

Sensor packages and refrigerators having the same are known. However,they suffer from various disadvantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

FIG. 1A is a conceptual view illustrating an example of a refrigeratorrelated to the present disclosure;

FIG. 1B is a conceptual view illustrating an example of a refrigeratorcontrol system related to the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating components of a refrigeratorincluded in a refrigerator control system according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating components of a mobile terminalincluded in a refrigerator control system according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3A is a conceptual view illustrating an example of a sensoraccording to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B is a conceptual view illustrating an example in which a sensoraccording to the present disclosure is attached to food;

FIGS. 3C and 3D are conceptual views illustrating an example of a bandtype attachment member provided in a sensor according to the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 3E and 3F are conceptual views illustrating an example of a cliptype attachment member provided in a sensor according to the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 3G and 3H are conceptual views illustrating an example of a sensorattached to a lid of a container accommodating food;

FIGS. 3I and 3J are conceptual views illustrating an example of a sensorthat senses a weight of food;

FIG. 4A is a conceptual view illustrating an example of a componentdisposed on an upper surface of a sensor according to the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 4B to 4D are conceptual views illustrating an example of a mainbody forming an appearance of a sensor according to the presentdisclosure and components disposed within the main body;

FIGS. 5A to 5C are conceptual views illustrating an example related to amain screen including state information of food; displayed on a displayunit of a mobile terminal included in a refrigerator control systemaccording to the present disclosure;

FIGS. 6A to 6F are conceptual views illustrating an example related to asub-screen including state information of food, displayed on a displayunit of a mobile terminal included in a refrigerator control systemaccording to the present disclosure;

FIGS. 7A to 7G are conceptual views illustrating an example of aconfiguration screen related to a main screen, displayed on a displayunit of a mobile terminal included in a refrigerator control systemaccording to the present disclosure;

FIGS. 8A to 8J are conceptual views illustrating embodiments ofinformation related to food; displayed on an output unit of arefrigerator according to the present disclosure;

FIGS. 9A to 9C are conceptual views illustrating embodiments ofinformation related to food; displayed on an output unit of arefrigerator according to the present disclosure; and

FIGS. 10A to 10E are flow charts illustrating embodiments related to amethod for detecting a time point at which food attached to a sensorpackage starts to be stored within a refrigerator using a sensor packageaccording to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Description will now be given in detail of the exemplary embodiments,with reference to the accompanying drawings. For the sake of briefdescription with reference to the drawings, the same or equivalentcomponents will be provided with the same reference numbers, anddescription thereof will not be repeated.

A refrigerator is a device for freezing (freezing storage) andrefrigerating (cold storage) an article therein. The refrigerator mayinclude a refrigerator body having a food storage chamber and arefrigerating cycle device for cooling. The refrigerating cycle deviceincludes a compressor, a condenser, an expander, and an evaporator. Ingeneral, a mechanical chamber may be formed in a rear area of therefrigerator body, and the compressor and the condenser of therefrigerating cycle device may be installed in the mechanical chamber.

In the refrigerator, an output unit that displays information related toan operation of the refrigerator may provided. For example, the outputunit may be installed in a door of the refrigerator and display varioustypes of information related to the refrigerator. For example,information output on the output unit may include information related tofood stored in the refrigerator.

Also, the refrigerator may include a communication unit that transmitsor receives information related to an operation of the refrigerator.Thus, the communication unit of the refrigerator may performcommunication with a server or a terminal present outside of therefrigerator, and may receive information to be displayed on the outputunit from the server or the terminal.

An appropriate storage time limit of food kept in a refrigeratingchamber or a freezing chamber varies according to a type of food and astorage start time, and a general refrigerator cannot check anappropriate storage time limit of each food stored therein or cannottransfer corresponding information to a user.

In particular, in larger refrigerators, a greater number of foods may bestored in refrigerators, and refrigerator users may not recall apurchase date of food stored in the refrigerator and a date in which afood was opened. Hence, this may result in the user discarding foodwhich was recently purchased or keeping food which may have expired orspoiled.

In order to check an expiration date or an available time untilexpiration of food stored in the refrigerator, a user must directlycheck a state of food stored in the refrigerator at a predetermined timeinterval, causing considerable inconvenience to the user.

In addition, when the user of the refrigerator directly checks a stateof food stored in the refrigerator at a predetermined time interval, adoor of the refrigerator must be frequently opened and closed, therebyincreasing power consumption of the refrigerator more than is necessary.

In addition, a general refrigerator does not provide information relatedto a remaining amount of food stored therein, and thus, the user may notrecognize that a particular food item is running low and should bepurchased again, until after it has been completely consumed. Thus, theuser of the general refrigerator may go through periods without aparticular food item.

In addition, when the user does not directly operate the refrigeratorfor a long period of time, freshness of food stored in the refrigeratoris continuously changed. In this case, it may be necessary for the userto remotely check information related to state of food stored in therefrigerator.

Meanwhile, a sensor used in the refrigerator is generally fixed andcoupled to a main body of the refrigerator, so it is difficult toutilize the sensor to sense information of each food. Even though thesensor may be provided to be independent from the main body of therefrigerator, since the sensor is not provided according to varioustypes of food, it is difficult for a control unit of the refrigeratorcommunicating with the sensor to determine a type of food attached tothe sensor.

Also, since the user may use a specific sensor for different foodgroups, smell generated by a specific food group may permeate to orcontaminate another food group, and hence, food hygiene may not beguaranteed.

A refrigerator including a sensor for communicating with therefrigerator and a control system thereof, as described in detailhereinafter, addresses these and other deficiencies. The abovereferences are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate forappropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, featuresand/or technical background.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual view illustrating an example of a refrigerator1000 related to the present disclosure. An appearance of therefrigerator 1000 may be formed by a refrigerator main body 1100 anddoors 1311, 1312, 1321, and 1322. A food storage chamber 1200 is formedwithin the refrigerator main body 1100. The food storage chamber 1200may be divided into a refrigerating chamber 1210 and a freezing chamber1220 according to set temperatures.

The doors 1311, 1312, 1321, and 1322 are connected to the refrigeratormain body 1100 forming an appearance of a front side of therefrigerator, and opens and closes a front opening 1100 a of therefrigerator main body 1100. The doors 1311, 1312, 1321, and 1322 may beclassified as rotational door or a drawer type door according to openingand closing methods, and may be classified according to installationpositions.

The display 1700 may be attached to one surface of a door of therefrigerator to display information related to an operation of therefrigerator or food kept in the refrigerator. Also, the display 1700may be installed to be detachably attached to one surface of a door ofthe refrigerator, and the display 1700 being attached to therefrigerator and a display 1700 a being detached from the refrigeratormay display different information.

For example, the display 1700 may detect whether it is detached from orattached to the refrigerator main body, and may switch information to bedisplayed on the display 1700 or switch an operation mode of the display1700. In detail, the display 1700 may include a communication unit thatperforms communication between a sensor present within the refrigeratorand a terminal present outside of the refrigerator, thus serving as agateway between the sensor and the terminal. The communication unit maybe referred to as a communication interface, communication module orcommunication device. In this case, a communication protocol establishedbetween the sensor and the display may be different from a communicationprotocol established between the terminal and the display.

When food is placed in the refrigerator 1000, the display 1700 mayoutput a graphic object including notification information related tothe food, state information related to a state of the food, and foodinformation related to the food. In detail, the state information mayinclude information related to a temperature of food, humidity of food,a type of and a generation amount of a gas generated in food, and aweight of food.

Also, the food information may include information related to at leastone of a cooking process set for food, a recommended use-by date, arecommended storage temperature, and a recommended storage humidity. Thefood information may be installed in a sensor control module of thesensor or a storage module or a server as described hereinafter.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a refrigerator control system according tothe present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 1B. Arefrigerator control system may include at least one of the refrigerator1000, a mobile terminal 100, a sensor 300, and a cloud 200 which mayinclude a network and a server. The refrigerator 1000 may receive stateinformation related to a state of food from the sensor 300 attached tothe food stored within the refrigerator. The refrigerator 1000 mayoutput notification information related to a storage state of the foodon the basis of the state information received from the sensor 300. Inaddition, the refrigerator 1000 may perform communication with themobile terminal 100 indirectly through the server 200 or directlyperform communication with the mobile terminal 100.

The refrigerator 1000 may receive information related to at least one ofa temperature, a weight, a recommended storage period, an expirationdate, and a gas generation amount of food from the server 200. Therefrigerator 1000 may perform a first communication with the sensor 300,and perform a second communication with the mobile terminal 100 or theserver 200. In this case, the first communication and the secondcommunication may be performed based on different communication methods.For example, the first communication may be through Bluetooth and thesecond communication may be through Wi-Fi.

The sensor 300 may detect a storage start time point at which foodstarts to be stored in the refrigerator 1000. Also, the sensor 300 maysense state information of food from the storage start time point andtransmit the sensed state information to the refrigerator 1000.

The storage start time point at which food with the sensor 300 attachedthereto is first stored may be detected by the sensor 300 or may bedetected by a refrigerator control unit 1080 (FIG. 2A) using sensedinformation from the sensor 300. A detailed method for detecting astorage start time point of food will be described in more detail withreference to FIGS. 4A to 4D and 10A to 10E.

The refrigerator 1000 may detect identification information of food onthe basis of the sensed information from the sensor 300 and search forinformation related to at least one of a temperature, a weight, anappropriate storage period, an expiration date, and a gas generationamount of food using the detected identification information. Forexample, the server 200 may include a database related to food includedin various food groups, and the refrigerator 1000 may refer to requiredinformation from the database using the detected identificationinformation.

The refrigerator 1000 or the server 200 may perform authentication onthe mobile terminal 100, and when a transmission request for informationrelated to food stored in the refrigerator 1000 is received from themobile terminal 100, the refrigerator 1000 or the server 200 may checkwhether the mobile terminal 100 which has transmitted the transmissionrequest is an authenticated terminal. Thus, only the authenticatedmobile terminal 100 may receive information related to food from therefrigerator 1000.

Hereinafter, components of the refrigerator 1000 according to thepresent disclosure will be described in detail with reference to FIG.2A. The refrigerator 1000 according to the present disclosure mayinclude at least one of a cooling cycle unit 1010, a communication unit1020, a sensing unit 1030, a fan 1040, an input unit 1050, a memory unit1060, an output unit 1070, a refrigerator control unit 1080, and a powersupply unit 1090.

In detail, the cooling cycle unit 1010 may be formed as a compressor, acondenser, an evaporator, a dryer, a capillary tube, a hot line, and thelike. Also, the cooling cycle unit 1010 may circulate a refrigerantwithin the cooling cycle unit 1010 according to driving of thecompressor.

The communication unit 1020 may include one or more components thatallow wired/wireless communication between the refrigerator 1000 and awired/wireless communication system or wired/wireless communicationbetween the refrigerator 1000 and a network in which the refrigerator1000 is positioned. For example, the communication unit 1020 may includea broadcast receiving module, a wireless Internet module, a short rangecommunication module, and a position information module. In anembodiment, the communication unit 1020 may be disposed in the display1700 or the output unit 1070 as illustrated in FIG. 1A.

The wireless Internet module included in the communication unit 1020refers to a module for wireless Internet connection and may be installedwithin or outside of the refrigerator 1000. Here, as a wireless Internettechnology, a WLAN (Wireless LAN), Wi-Fi, Wibro, Wimax, HSDPA (HighSpeed Downlink Packet Access), and the like, may be used.

The short range communication module included in the communication unit1020 refers to a module for short range communication. As a short rangecommunication technology, Bluetooth, RFID (Radio FrequencyIdentification), IrDA, (infrared Data Association), UWB (UltraWideband), ZigBee, and the like, may be used.

The position information module included in the communication unit 1020may be a module for checking or obtaining a position of a refrigerator.For example, the position information module may be a GPS (GlobalPosition System) module. The GPS module receives position informationfrom a plurality of artificial satellites. Here, the positioninformation may include coordinate information displayed by latitude andlongitude. For example, the GPS module may measure accurate times anddistances from three or more satellites and accurately calculate acurrent position from the three different distances according totriangulation or trigonometric calculations. A method for obtainingdistance and time information from three satellites and correcting anerror by one satellite may be used. In particular, the GPS module mayobtain even an accurate time together with 3D speed information, as wellas positions of latitude, longitude, and altitude from positioninformation received from the satellites.

The communication unit 1020 may receive data from a user, and maytransmit information processed in the refrigerator control unit 1080 ofthe refrigerator 1000, information sensed in the sensing unit 1030, andthe like, to an external terminal.

The sensing unit 1030 may sense a temperature within or outside astorage chamber of the refrigerator, whether the refrigerator door or ahome bar is opened, and the like. In detail, the sensing unit 1030 mayinclude a sensor that senses a temperature of at least one of an inletof an evaporator and an outlet of the evaporator.

Also, the sensing unit 1030 may include at least one sensor attached toone surface within the refrigerating chamber of the refrigerator, atleast one sensor attached to one surface within the freezing chamber,and at least one sensor attached to one surface among outer wallsurfaces of the refrigerator to sense an ambient temperature. Also, thesensing unit 1030 may include a sensor that senses whether thecompressor is driven or senses a cooling capacity of the compressor.Information sensed by the sensing unit 1030 may be transferred to thecontroller 180.

The fan 1040 may include a cooling fan that supplies cooling air to theinside of the refrigerator, a heat releasing fan disposed in amechanical chamber to release heat of a refrigerant passing through thecondenser of the cooling cycle unit, and the like.

The input unit 1050, which is to receive a user input for controlling anoperation of the refrigerator 1000 or checking a state of therefrigerator 1000 and outputting a signal corresponding to the userinput, may be implemented in the form of a button or a touch pad.

For example, the input unit 1050 may be implemented in the form of atouch screen on a display of the output unit 1070 of the refrigerator.Also, the input unit 1050 may further include a camera module forcapturing an image of a food material to be kept in the refrigerator orcapturing an image such as a barcode or a QR code attached to the foodmaterial. Also, the input unit 1050 may further include a microphone forinputting audio such as a user's voice.

The memory unit 1060 may store information related to the refrigerator1000, for example, a program for driving the refrigerator 1000,information set for driving the refrigerator 1000, an refrigeratorapplication, refrigerator state information, recipe information, foodmaterial information kept in the refrigerator, user information,multimedia content, and the like, and also include an icon or graphicdata for visually expressing such information.

Also, the memory unit 1060 may store at least one of positioninformation regarding a place where the refrigerator 1000 is installed,information regarding one or more terminals whose positions are to becollected, and connection information regarding a server.

The output unit 1070, which is to visually or audibly expressinformation related to the refrigerator 1000, and the like, may includea planar display and a speaker. In detail, the display may be formed asa touch panel for receiving a user's touch input.

The display of the output unit 1070 displays a UI (User Interface) or aGUI (Graphic User Interface) related to driving of the refrigerator. Indetail, the display may include at least one of a liquid crystaldisplay, a thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display, an organiclight emitting diode, a flexible display, a 3D display. Also, two ormore displays may be present according to an implementation form of therefrigerator 1000. For example, a first display may be provided on onesurface of a refrigerator door of the refrigerator 1000 and a seconddisplay may be provided on one surface of a freezing door.

When the display and a sensor that senses a touch operation(hereinafter, referred to as a “touch sensor”) form a layered structure(hereinafter, referred to as a “touch screen”), the display may also beused as an input device, as well as an output device. The touch sensormay have a form of a touch film, a touch sheet, a touch pad, and thelike.

The power supply unit 1090 may receive external power or internal powerunder the control of the refrigerator control unit 1080, and may supplypower required for operation of each component.

An operation of the refrigerator control unit 1080 and an operation ofan application executed by the refrigerator control unit 1080 may bebased on an appropriate mediation operation of an operating system, anda description of the mediation operation will be omitted.

Hereinafter, components of the mobile terminal 100 included in therefrigerator control system according to the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to FIG. 2B. The mobile terminal 100is shown having components such as a wireless communication unit 110, aninput unit 120, a sensing unit 140, an output unit 150, an interfaceunit 160, a memory 170, a controller 180, and a power supply unit 190.It is understood that implementing all of the illustrated components isnot a requirement, and that greater or fewer components mayalternatively be implemented.

The mobile terminal 100 may include wireless communication unit 110configured with several commonly implemented components. For instance,the wireless communication unit 110 may typically include one or morecomponents which permit wireless communication between the mobileterminal 100 and a wireless communication system or network within whichthe mobile terminal is located.

The output unit 150 may be configured to output various types ofinformation, such as audio, video, tactile output, and the like. Theoutput unit 150 is shown having a display unit 151, an audio outputmodule 152, a haptic module 153, and an optical output module 154.

The display unit 151 may have an inter-layered structure or anintegrated structure with a touch sensor in order to facilitate a touchscreen. The touch screen may provide an output interface between themobile terminal 100 and a user, as well as function as the user inputunit 123 which provides an input interface between the mobile terminal100 and the user.

The interface unit 160 may serve as an interface with various types ofexternal devices that can be coupled to the mobile terminal 100. In somecases, the mobile terminal 100 may perform assorted control functionsassociated with a connected external device, in response to the externaldevice being connected to the interface unit 160.

The memory 170 may be implemented to store data to support variousfunctions or features of the mobile terminal 100. For instance, thememory 170 may be configured to store application programs executed inthe mobile terminal 100, data or instructions for operations of themobile terminal 100, and the like.

The controller 180 may function to control overall operation of themobile terminal 100, in addition to the operations associated with theapplication programs. The controller 180 may provide or processinformation or functions appropriate for a user by processing signals,data, information and the like, which are input or output by the variouscomponents, or activating application programs stored in the memory 170.

Regarding the wireless communication unit 110, the broadcast receivingmodule 111 may be configured to receive a broadcast signal and/orbroadcast associated information from an external broadcast managingentity via a broadcast channel. The broadcast channel may include asatellite channel, a terrestrial channel, or both. In some embodiments,two or more broadcast receiving modules 111 may be utilized tofacilitate simultaneously receiving of two or more broadcast channels,or to support switching among broadcast channels.

The wireless Internet module 113 is configured to facilitate wirelessInternet access. This module may be internally or externally coupled tothe mobile terminal 100. The wireless Internet module 113 may transmitand/or receive wireless signals via communication networks according towireless Internet technologies.

Examples of such wireless Internet access include Wireless LAN (WLAN),Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Direct, Digital Living Network Alliance(DLNA), Wireless Broadband (WiBro), Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMAX), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA),HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access), Long Term Evolution (LTE),LTE-A (Long Term Evolution-Advanced), and the like. The wirelessInternet module 113 may transmit/receive data according to one or moreof such wireless Internet technologies, and other Internet technologiesas well.

In some embodiments, when the wireless Internet access is implementedaccording to, for example, WiBro, HSDPA, HSUPA, GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, LTE,LTE-A and the like, as part of a mobile communication network, thewireless Internet module 113 performs such wireless Internet access. Assuch, the Internet module 113 may cooperate with, or function as, themobile communication module 112.

The short-range communication module 114 is configured to facilitateshort-range communications. Suitable technologies for implementing suchshort-range communications include BLUETOOTH™, Radio FrequencyIDentification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra-WideBand(UWB), ZigBee, Near Field Communication (NFC), Wireless-Fidelity(Wi-Fi), Wi-A Direct, Wireless USB (Wireless Universal Serial Bus), andthe like. The short-range communication module 114 in general supportswireless communications between the mobile terminal 100 and a wirelesscommunication system, communications between the mobile terminal 100 andanother mobile terminal 100, or communications between the mobileterminal and a network where another mobile terminal 100 (or an externalserver) is located, via wireless area networks, One example of thewireless area networks is a wireless personal area networks.

The user input unit 123 is a component that permits input by a user.Such user input may enable the controller 180 to control operation ofthe mobile terminal 100. The user input unit 123 may include one or moreof a mechanical input element (for example, a key, a button located on afront and/or rear surface or a side surface of the mobile terminal 100,a dome switch, a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like), or atouch-sensitive input, among others. As one example, the touch-sensitiveinput may be a virtual key or a soft key, which is displayed on a touchscreen through software processing, or a touch key which is located onthe mobile terminal at a location that is other than the touch screen.On the other hand, the virtual key or the visual key may be displayed onthe touch screen in various shapes, for example, graphic, text, icon,video, or a combination thereof.

The display unit 151 may be configured to output information processedin the mobile terminal 100. For example, the display unit 151 maydisplay execution screen information of an application program executingat the mobile terminal 100 or user interface (UI) and graphic userinterface (GUI) information in response to the execution screeninformation. In some embodiments, the display unit 151 may beimplemented as a stereoscopic display unit for displaying stereoscopicimages.

The audio output module 152 may be configured to output audio data. Suchaudio data may be obtained from any of a number of different sources,such that the audio data may be received from the wireless communicationunit 110 or may have been stored in the memory 170. The audio data maybe output during modes such as a signal reception mode, a call mode, arecord mode, a voice recognition mode, a broadcast reception mode, andthe like. A haptic module 153 may be configured to generate varioustactile effects that a user feels, perceive, or otherwise experience.

An optical output module 154 may output a signal for indicating an eventgeneration using light of a light source. Examples of events generatedin the mobile terminal 100 may include message reception, call signalreception, a missed call, an alarm, a schedule notice, an emailreception, information reception through an application, and the like.

The memory 170 may store programs to support operations of thecontroller 180 and store input/output data (for example, phonebook,messages, still images, videos, etc., The memory 170 may store datarelated to various patterns of vibrations and audio which are output inresponse to touch inputs on the touch screen. Moreover, the mobileterminal 100 may be operated in association with a web storage whichperforms a storage function of the memory 170 on the Internet.

Various embodiments described herein may be implemented in acomputer-readable medium, a machine-readable medium, or similar mediumusing, for example, software, hardware, or any combination thereof.

Hereinafter, various embodiments related to a sensor according to thepresent disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3J.As illustrated in FIG. 3A, the main body 301 of the sensor 300 may havea circular shape. However, an embodiment of the main body 301 is notlimited to FIG. 3A and the main body 301 may have various sizes andshapes.

An operation switch 302 of the sensor 300 may be provided in a portionof the main body 301. The sensor 300 may be tuned on or off on the basisof a user input applied to the operation switch 302.

Information 303 (also referred to herein as a mark) related to a type ofthe sensor 300 may be displayed on one surface of the main body 301. Inthis case, the type of the sensor 300 may be classified according to afood group. For example, types of the sensor 300 may be classified intoseafood, meat, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, grains, fat, and thelike.

The information 303 related to a type of the sensor 300 may be displayedin a portion of the sensor that forms an appearance of the sensor andwhere food is not attached. Thus, since the information 303 related to atype of the sensor 300 is displayed on one surface of the main body 301,a mixed use of a food group to which the sensor 300 is attached may beprevented, and thus, hygiene of foods to be stored in the refrigerator1000 may be enhanced.

That is, since information 303 related to a type of the sensor isdisplayed on one surface of the main body 301, the user is induced toattach a certain sensor only to the same food group. In some instances,sensors may be alternately used for different food groups, resulting ina unique smell generated by a specific food group to be transferred to adifferent food group causing an inconvenience to the user. Theinformation 303 provided on the sensor addresses this problem andresulting user inconvenience.

Various types of sensor 300 illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3J may be formedas a sensor package, and the plurality of sensor packages may beincluded in a sensor set positioned outside of the refrigerator. Inorder to store food in a refrigerator, the user may select a type ofsensor 300 from the sensor set and attach the selected sensor to asurface of food or a container accommodating the food. Here, in order toselect a sensor corresponding to a food group of the food, the user maycheck information 303 related to the type of the sensor displayed on onesurface of the main body of the sensor.

For example, when the information 303 related to a type of the sensorcorresponds to fish among a plurality of food groups, the sensor 300 onwhich the information 303 a (FIG. 3A) related to the type of the sensormay be attached to a surface of fish or a container accommodating fish.

Thus, in the plurality of sensor packages disclosed in the presentdisclosure, the mark 303 including information related to a type of thesensor may be disposed on an outer surface of the main body of thesensor package so that foods are classified according to types of foodsand the user is able to quickly recognize a type of food or a food groupcorresponding to the sensor package. That is, the mark 303 classifyingtypes of food and allowing the user to recognize a type of foodallocated to the sensor may be disposed on an outer surface of thesensor package.

A memory of the sensor 300 or a memory of the sensor package may storefood information related to the mark 303 disposed on the outer surfaceof the sensor. The food information may include information related to afood group or a kind of food related to the mark 303.

For example, when a type of the sensor 300 classified according to foodgroups is fish, the memory may store information related to at least oneof a recommended storage temperature, a recommended storage humidity, arecommended storage period, and spoilage condition of fish. In anotherexample, when a type of the sensor 300 classified according to foodgroups is fish, the memory may store information related to a freezingtime; a thawing time, and a cooking method of fish.

Meanwhile, a type of the sensor 300 may be flexibly set. That is, theinformation 303 related to a type of the sensor 300 displayed on onesurface of the main body 301 may be changed on the basis of a userinput. For example, when the user applies an input for changing a typeof the sensor to the sensor, visual appearance of the information 303related to a type of the sensor 300 may be changed. Here, an outputmodule may be provided in the main body 301 of the sensor 300, and theoutput module may display the information 303 related to a type of thesensor 300 on the basis of a user input.

In an embodiment, when a type corresponding to a type of food to benewly stored in the refrigerator is not present among types of sensorclassified according to food groups, the user may set a custom type ofthe sensor 300. For example, the mark 300 including information relatedto a type of the sensor 300 may be set or changed on the basis of a userinput. Also, the sensor 300 may receive information related to at leastone of a name, a type, a recommended storage temperature, a recommendedstorage humidity, and a recommended storage period of food, and thereceived information may be stored in the memory of the sensor 300. Forexample, the mark 303 including information related to the type of thesensor 300 may corresponding to an image input by a user input. Inanother example, the mark 303 may indicate the sensor 300 to be attachedto a food group which is not defined in advance.

In another embodiment, a type of the sensor 300 may be classifiedaccording to types of sensed information. For example, the sensor 300may be classified into a temperature sensor, a gas sensor, and a weightsensor.

Referring to FIG. 3B, an attachment member that generates adhesive forcemay be provided on a rear surface of the sensor 300, and the sensor 300may be attached to a container 401 accommodating food by the attachmentmember. Thus, the sensor 300 may sense a temperature or humidity offood. For example, the sensor 300 to which a mark 303 b indicating fishis attached may be attached to a portion of the container 401accommodating fish. Thus, the operation switch 302 of the sensor 300 maybe turned on after the sensor 300 is attached to the container 401.

Although not shown in FIG. 3B, the sensor 300 may be directly attachedto a surface of food by the attachment member. In this case, theattachment member may be formed of a material which provides adhesiveforce even on a surface where moisture is present. Thus, the sensor 300may be directly attached to a surface of food such as meat or seafood.

Referring to FIG. 3C, an embodiment of the sensor 300 having a band typeattachment member will be described. Here, the sensor 300 may be coupledto a band type attachment member 301 a. The band type attachment member301 a may have a hole in a portion accommodating the sensor 300 to allowthe sensor 300 to easily sense information related to a state of food.Thus, in the sensor 300 coupled to the band type attachment member 301a, a portion of the sensor 300 may be exposed to outside by the hole,and the exposed portion of the sensor 300 may be directly in contactwith food or a container accommodating food. A length of a band of theband type attachment member 301 a illustrated in FIG. 3C may be changed.

The band type attachment member 301 a may be coupled to various types ofsensor 300. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 3D, an embodiment in whichthe sensor 300 with a mark 303 d indicating beverage attached theretoand the band type attachment member 301 a are coupled is illustrated,and in FIG. 3C, an embodiment in which the sensor 300 with a mark 303 cindicating another type attached thereto (e.g., a timer image) and theband type attachment member 301 a are coupled is illustrated. The sensor300 and the band type attachment member 301 a may be coupled by magnetsattached thereto or may be bound by a binding member.

Also, when the sensor that senses a temperature and the band typeattachment member 301 a are coupled, one surface on which a heattransmission metal of the sensor 300 is disposed may be exposed to theoutside from the band type attachment member 301 a.

Also, referring to FIG. 3D, the sensor 300 may be attached to abottle-shaped container 402 by fastening both ends of the band typeattachment member 301 a. Meanwhile, although not shown in FIG. 3D, theband type attachment member 301 a is not necessarily fastened only to abottle-shaped container. Thus, the sensor 300 coupled to the band typeattachment member 01 a may also be attached to various objects such asmeat, seafood, and the like.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3D, the user may couple the sensor300 with the mark 303 d indicating a beverage type to the band typeattachment member 301 a, and when the user fastens both ends of the bandtype attachment member 301 a to a bottle accommodating beverage, thesensor 300 may sense information related to a temperature of thebeverage. In this case, in order to transmit heat to a first sensingmodule installed within the sensor 300 and sensing information relatedto a temperature of food, a metal member installed on one surface of thesensor 300 may be exposed to the outside of the band type attachmentmember 301 a so that the bottle-shaped container 402 accommodatingbeverage illustrated in FIG. 3D and the metal member may be in directcontact with each other.

The sensor communication module of the sensor 300 illustrated in FIG. 3Dmay transmit and receive information related to a temperature of thebeverage to and from a communication unit of the refrigerator 1000 inreal time, and the refrigerator control unit may determine whether thebeverage is at an appropriate temperature on the basis of theinformation related to the temperature of the beverage. That is, on thebasis of information received from the sensor communication module ofthe sensor 300 to which the mark 303 d indicating beverage is attached,the refrigerator control unit may sense a temperature of the beveragefrom a time point at which the beverage is first stored in therefrigerator, receive a set temperature regarding the beverage from theuser, and compare the sensed temperature with the set temperature todetermine whether the beverage has reached the set temperature. Thetemperature information may be different based on different types ofbeverages or based on user set temperatures.

Referring to FIG. 3E, an embodiment of the sensor having a clip typeattachment member 301 b will be described. The sensor 300 may be coupledto the clip type attachment member 301 b, In an embodiment, the cliptype attachment member 301 b may be integrally formed with the main body301 of the sensor 300 or may be detachably attached to the sensor 300.

For example, the sensor 300 with a mark 303 e indicating vegetable andfruit and the clip type attachment member 301 b may be coupled to acontainer. It may be difficult to attach a sensor to certain types offood such as vegetable or fruit food. In this case, the sensor 300 maybe attached to a container or bag for such types of food. For example,the clip type attachment member 301 b may be fixed to an opening of avinyl container (e.g., plastic bag), and the sensor 300 attached to theentrance of the vinyl container by the clip type attachment member 301 bmay sense state information of vegetable or fruit at the opening of thevinyl container. That is, the sensor 300 may be attached to the entranceportion of the vinyl container by the clip type attachment member 301 bto sense information related to a gas generated by the vegetable orfruit emitted to the entrance of the vinyl container.

Referring to FIG. 3F, the sensor 300 having the clip type attachmentmember 301 b may be attached to one end of a container 403 accommodatingfood. In detail, the clip type attachment member 301 b may be bound toone end of the container 403. For example, the container 403 may be avinyl container whose shape can be flexibly changed such as a plasticbag.

As illustrated in FIG. 3F, the sensor 300 with a mark 303 f indicatingfish attached thereto and the clip type attachment member 301 b may becoupled to food to which it is difficult to directly attach the sensor300 such as fish, in order to sense state information of the fishaccommodated in the vinyl container. The clip type attachment member 301b may be fixed to an opening of the vinyl container, and the sensor 300attached near the opening of the vinyl container by the clip typeattachment member 301 b may sense state information of fish near theopening of the vinyl container. That is, the sensor 300 may be attachedto the open portion of the vinyl container by the clip type attachmentmember 301 b to sense information related to a gas generated by the fishemitted to the entrance of the vinyl container.

Referring to FIG. 3G, the sensor 300 may be attached to a concaveportion formed by a lid 404 of a container accommodating food. Thesensor 300 may have an attachment member detachable between the lid andthe sensor such that the main body 301 of the sensor 300 may be fixed tothe concave portion of the lid. For example, the attachment member maybe formed of rubber or silicon and may attach the sensor 300 to theconcave portion of the lid. Referring to FIG. 3H, the sensor 300 may beattached to a portion of the lid and positioned within the containeraccommodating food. Since the sensor 300 is attached to the concaveportion of the lid by the attachment member, even when it is difficultto directly attach the sensor 300 to a surface of food, stateinformation related to a state of food may be easily sensed.

In more detail, when a container accommodating food includes a lid, theuse may attach the sensor illustrated in FIG. 3G to the lid. The sensor300 with a mark 303 g indicating a lid may be attached to the concaveportion of the lid 404. Thereafter, the user may turn on the operationswitch 302 of the sensor 300 attached to the lid. In addition, when theuser covers the container accommodating food with the lid 404 with thesensor attached thereto, the sensor 300 attached to the lid 404 maysense state information of food accommodated in the container.

Referring to FIG. 3I, a weight sensor 300 c is illustrated as anembodiment of the sensor 300. An upper surface of the weight sensor 300c may be formed to be substantially flat. Referring to FIG. 3J, theweight sensor 300 c may be disposed under food or a container 405accommodating food to sense information related to a weight of the food.In the case of the weight sensor 300 c, information related to a powerbutton of the sensor or a type of sensor may be disposed on an outercircumferential surface of a main body of the weight sensor.

For example, a mark 303 i indicating a beverage type may be attached toone surface of the weight sensor 300 c, and the user may place theweight sensor 300 c on a surface inside the refrigerator. Referring ToFIG. 1A, the weight sensor 300 c may be placed in a receiving spaceprovided in the doors 1311, 1312, 1313, and 1314 of the refrigerator, ina state that the operation switch 302 is turned on. In detail, thereceiving space may be provided on an inner side of the door or may beprovided on an outer side of the door such that it is opened and closedfrom outside of the refrigerator.

The weight sensor 300 c placed in the receiving space provided in thedoor may be operated in an inactive mode in a state that food is notplaced on the weight sensor 300 c. A sensor control module of the weightsensor 300 c operated in the inactive mode may determine whether abeverage is placed on the weight sensor 300 c.

When a beverage is placed on the weight sensor 300 c, the sensor controlmodule of the weight sensor 300 c may determine when the beverage isfirst stored in the refrigerator and detects a time point at which thebeverage is stored. Also, when the time point at which the beverage isstored is detected, the sensor control module of the weight sensor 300 cmay switch the weight sensor 300 c from the inactive mode to an activemode to control the weight sensor 300 c to sense state information ofthe beverage. That is, the weight sensor 300 c placed in the receivingspace provided on the door side of the refrigerator may senseinformation related to a temperature, weight, and humidity, from a timepoint at which the beverage is placed on an upper surface of the weightsensor.

Thus, a sensor communication module of the weight sensor 300 c maytransmit information related to a weight of the beverage in real time orat a predetermined time interval from the time point at which thebeverage is first stored in the refrigerator to the communication unitof the refrigerator 1000. On the basis of the information related to theweight of the beverage at the storage start time point received by thecommunication unit and the weight of the beverage at a current timepoint, the refrigerator control unit of the refrigerator may determinewhether a sufficient quantity of the beverage remains or whether thequantity of the beverage is low and should be purchased.

Also, on the basis of the determination result, the refrigerator controlunit may control the display 1700 disposed on a front side of therefrigerator to output a graphic object indicating whether the beverageis insufficient or a graphic object indicating whether the beverage isrequired to be purchased again. In an example, the refrigerator controlunit may compare a weight of the beverage at the storage start timepoint at which weight sensor 300 c was first attached to the beverageand the current weight of the beverage. When the current weight value ofthe beverage to the weight of the beverage at the storage start timepoint is less than a predetermined ratio, the refrigerator control unitmay determine that the beverage is insufficient or is required to bepurchased again. In another example, when the current weight of thebeverage is lower than a preset weight value, the refrigerator controlunit may determine that the beverage is insufficient or is required tobe purchased again.

Also, after the weight sensor 300 c detects the storage start point ofthe beverage, although the sensed weight value is rapidly reduced tosubstantially converge to 0 g, the refrigerator control unit may defer adetermination regarding whether the beverage is insufficient or whetherthe beverage is required to be purchased again. For example, when theuser temporarily removes the beverage from the weight sensor 300 c todrink the beverage, even though information related to a rapidly reducedweight value from the weight sensor 300 c, the refrigerator control unitmay not determine whether the beverage is insufficient or whether thebeverage is required to be purchased again for a predetermined period oftime.

Here, when a predetermined period of time has lapsed after the weightvalue sensed by the weight sensor 300 c is reduced to 0 g, therefrigerator control unit may determine that the beverage is no longerbeing stored. When it is determined that the beverage is no longer beingstored, e.g., the storage period has come to an end, the refrigeratorcontrol unit may control the communication unit of the refrigerator 1000to transmit a predetermined control command signal to the sensorcommunication module of the weight sensor 300 c to switch the weightsensor 300 c to an inactive mode.

The sensor control module of the weight sensor 300 c may storeinformation related to a reference ratio value related to a relativeratio used as a reference for determining whether beverage isinsufficient or whether beverage is required to be purchased again andinformation related to an absolute reference weight value. The sensorcommunication module of the weight sensor 300 c may transmit theinformation related to the reference ratio value or the reference weightvalue to the communication unit of the refrigerator 1000.

The sensor 300 illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3J may be coupled to afreshness maintaining member. In detail, the freshness maintainingmember may be formed as an oxygen absorbent, an ionizer, or anultraviolet (UV) generator. For example, referring to FIG. 3H, thefreshness maintaining member may be coupled to a portion of the sensor300 and disposed in a space formed between the sensor and a concaveportion of the lid. Also, the freshness maintaining member formed as aUV generator may be installed within the sensor 300.

Hereinafter, an example of components disposed on an upper surface ofthe sensor according to the present disclosure will be described withreference to FIG. 4A. At least one of an illumination sensor 304 thatsenses an amount of light near the sensor, a tact switch 305 (or tactileswitch) operated on the basis of a users touch input, an LED module 306,and a sensing hole 307 allowing a gas generated by food to passtherethrough may be formed on one surface of the sensor 300.

The tact switch 305 may perform a function similar to that of theoperation switch 302 illustrated in FIG. 3A. In an embodiment, when auser's touch input is applied, the tact switch 305 may switch an ON/OFFstate of the sensor 300. For example, when a touch input is applied tothe tact switch 305 in a state that the sensor 300 is ON, the tactswitch 305 may turn off the sensor 300, and when the touch input isapplied in a state that the sensor 300 is OFF, the tact switch 305 mayturn on the sensor 300.

The LED module 306 may output information related to a type of thesensor. In an embodiment, the LED module 306 may output informationrelated to a type of the sensor classified according to food groups. Forexample, when the sensor 300 is set for meat, the LED module 306 mayirradiate a light source of red color, and when the sensor 300 is setfor vegetable, the LED module 306 may irradiate a blue light source.

In another embodiment, the LED module 306 may output information relatedto a type of the sensor classified according to sensing targets. Forexample, when the sensor 300 is a sensor that senses a temperature, theLED module 306 may irradiate a white light source, and when the sensor300 is a sensor that senses a gas, the LED module 306 may irradiate ablack light source.

In another embodiment, the LED module 306 may output information relatedto an ON/OFF state of the sensor. In another embodiment, the LED module306 may irradiate UV light to maintain freshness of food.

Referring to FIG. 4B, a plurality of assemblies 301 a, 301 b, 301 c, and301 d forming the main body 301 of the sensor 300 is illustrated. Inparticular, the sensor 300 illustrated in FIG. 4B may be a temperaturesensor for sensing a temperature of food.

Some of the plurality of assemblies 301 a, 301 b, 301 c, and 301 d maybe formed as insulators. Also, some of the plurality of assemblies 301a, 301 b, 301 c, and 301 d may be formed as waterproof members forpreventing penetration of moisture to the inside of the main body. Thus,since the assemblies as waterproof members may form an appearance of thesensor 300, the sensor may be attached even to food containing a largeamount of moisture, and a fault of the sensor may be prevented althoughthe sensor 300 may be in contact with moisture for a long period oftime.

The main body of the sensor 300 may include at least one of a firstsensing module 310 that senses a temperature or humidity, a battery 320that supplies electric power to the sensor 300, a sensor control module330 that controls an operation of the sensor 300, a sensor communicationmodule 340 that performs communication with the communication unit ofthe refrigerator 1000, and a second sensing module 350 that senses anamount of light in the vicinity of the sensor 300.

The first sensing module 310 may be disposed on a rear side of thesensor 300, and may be disposed to be spaced apart from a module thatgenerates heat, among internal modules of the sensor 300. The firstsensing module 310 may be installed to be in contact with a conductivemember 380 disposed in the assembly 301 b forming the main body 301.Here, the conductive member 380 may form a portion of an appearance ofthe sensor 300 as it may be exposed to the outside of the sensor 300.

The conductive member 380 may transfer heat from food to the firstsensing module 310, in order to detect information related to atemperature of food. For example, the conductive member 380 may beformed of a metal with high heat conductivity. In another example, theconductive member 380 may be formed of a metal which does not corrodefrom contact with food.

Also, the second sensing module 350 may be disposed on an upper surfaceof the sensor 300, and a portion of the second sensing module 350 may beexposed to the outside. Thus, the second sensing module 350 may detectinformation related to an amount of light generated on the outside ofthe sensor.

The sensor communication module 340 may transmit information detected bythe first and second sensing modules to the refrigerator 1000, and therefrigerator control unit 1080 may detect information related to a stateof food to which the sensor is attached or detect information related toa progress or state of a cooking process performed on the food, on thebasis of the transmitted information.

Also, the sensor communication module 340 may transmit informationrelated to a type classified according to food groups of the sensor 300,and information related to a type classified by sensing targets of thesensor 300 to the refrigerator 1000. Thus, the refrigerator control unit1080 may determine a food group to which the sensor 300 is attached, anddetermine whether the food is stored at an appropriate temperatureaccording to the determined food group.

For example, the refrigerator control unit 1080 may recognize a positionat which food is stored on the basis of information transmitted from thesensor 300. For example on the basis of the information related to atemperature sensed by the first sensing module 310, the refrigeratorcontrol unit 1080 may recognize any one of a refrigerating chamber, afreezing chamber, or a room temperature storage chamber as the storageposition of food. In another example, the refrigerator control unit 1080may determine whether the food with the sensor attached thereto has beenthawed or whether the food is frozen.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the sensor 301 configured to sense a temperaturemay be 30-40 mm in width d1 and 10-15 mm in height d2, and a thicknessd3 of a rear surface of the sensor 301 may be 1-4 mm. Preferably, thewidth d1 may be 36.50 mm, the height d2 may be 13 mm, and the thicknessd3 of the rear surface may be 2.00 mm.

Referring to FIG. 4C, a plurality of assemblies 301 a, 301 b, 301 c, 301e, and 301 f that form the main body 301 of the sensor 300 isillustrated. In particular, the sensor 300 illustrated in FIG. 4C may bea gas sensor for sensing gas generated from food.

A sensing hole to allow a gas generated from food to be introducedtherethrough may be formed in one assembly 301 c forming an appearanceof the sensor 300. A third sensing module 360 sensing a gas generatedfrom food may be disposed between the sensor communication module 340and the second sensing module 350 within the main body of the sensor300. The third sensing module 360 may detect information related to atype of a gas generated from food and a generation amount of the gas.

As illustrated in FIG. 4C, the sensor configured to sense gas may alsoequipped with the first sensing module 310 for sensing a temperature.Referring to FIGS. 4B and 4C, the first sensing module 310 may bedisposed on a rear surface of the sensor 300, and may be disposed to bespaced apart from a module generating heat among internal modules of thesensor 300. The first sensing module 310 may be installed to be incontact with the conductive member 380 disposed in the assembly 301 bforming the main body 301 of the sensor 300. In this case, theconductive member 380 may form a portion of an outer appearance of thesensor 300 as it may be exposed to the outside of the sensor 300. Theconductive member 380 may transfer heat to the first sensing module 310,and thus, the first sensing module 310 may detect information related toa temperature of the food.

The sensor communication module 340 may transmit the informationdetected by the first sensing module 310 and the third sensing module360 to the refrigerator 1000, and the refrigerator control unit 1080 maydetect whether food with the sensor attached thereto has spoiled orinformation related to a progress or state of a cooking process beingperformed on the food.

For example, the refrigerator control unit 1080 may determine whetherfood has been spoiled or whether the food has been matured on the basisof information related to a type of gas generated by the food and anamount of generated gas as sensed by the third sensing module 360. Inthis case, the refrigerator control unit 1080 may use a databaseincluding information related to types of gases generated when foodgroups are spoiled or matured and amount of the gases generated.

In detail, when the sensor 300 is for meat, if an amount of ammonia gasor amine gas generated is about 5-10 mg %, the refrigerator control unit1080 may determine that the food to which the sensor is attached isfresh. If the amount of ammonia gas or amine gas is about 15-25 mg %,the refrigerator control unit 1080 may determine that the food to whichthe sensor is attached is normal. If the amount of ammonia gas or aminegas is about 30-40 mg %, the refrigerator control unit 1080 maydetermine that the food to which the sensor is attached has started tospoil. If the amount of ammonia gas or amine gas is about 50 mg % orgreater, the refrigerator control unit 1080 may determine that the foodto which the sensor is attached has completely spoiled.

Referring to FIG. 4C, the sensor configured to sense gas may be 30-40 mmin width d4 and 15-20 mm in height d5. Preferably, the width d4 may be36.50 mm, and the height d5 may be 16.50 mm.

The sensor 300 illustrated in FIG. 4D may be a weight sensor that sensesinformation related to a weight of food. An assembly 301 c that forms anupper surface of the main body of the sensor 300 may be formed to beflat. That is, the upper surface of the main body of the sensor 300 maybe a portion on which food is placed to measure a weight of the food.Preferably, the assembly 301 c that forms the upper surface of the mainbody may be formed to be substantially planar.

Referring to FIG. 4D, a fourth sensing module 370 that detectsinformation related to a weight of food may be disposed on a rearsurface within the main body of the sensor 300. In this case, thebattery 320, the sensor control module 330, and the sensor communicationmodule 340 may be sequentially disposed on the fourth sensing module370. Also, in a case in which the fourth sensing module 370 is disposedon the rear surface within the main body of the sensor 300, the firstsensing module 310 and the second sensing module 350 may be disposed onthe sensor communication module 340.

Referring to FIG. 4D, in the sensor 300 configured to sense weight, thefirst sensing module 310 that detects information related to atemperature may be installed to be in contact with the conductive member380 included in the upper surface of the main body 301 of the sensor300. For example, the assembly 301 c that forms the upper surface of themain body 301 may include the conductive member 380 exposed to theoutside, and the first sensing module 310 that senses temperature may beinstalled to be in contact with the conductive member 380. As describedabove, when an object for weight measurement is placed on the assembly301 c, a temperature of the weight measurement target may be transferredto the first sensing module through the conductive member 380.

The sensor communication module 340 may transmit information detected bythe first, second, and fourth sensing module to the refrigerator 1000,and the refrigerator control unit 1080 may detect whether a quantity offood is sufficient or whether the food is required to be purchased againon the basis of the transmitted information.

For example, on the basis of the information received from the fourthsensing module, the refrigerator control unit 1080 may compare a weightof food at a storage start time point and a weight of the food at acurrent time point. Here, when the weight of the food is reduced by aspecific ratio or less, compared with the weight of the food at thestorage start time point, the refrigerator control unit 1080 maydetermine that the food is insufficient or is required to be purchasedagain. The specific ratio may be set to be different in each food groupand/or based on user setting.

Referring to FIG. 4D, a width d6 of the sensor configured to senseweight may be 60-100 mm and a height d7 may be 10-15 mm. Preferably, thewidth d6 may be 90 mm and the height d7 may be 12 mm.

When the sensors illustrated in FIGS. 4B to 4D are compared, the sensorconfigured to sense weight may be formed to be larger in width than thesensor configured to sense temperature or gas. Also, the sensor thatsenses gas may be formed to be higher in height than the sensor thatsenses temperature or weight.

As described above, FIGS. 4B to 4D illustrate the sensor that sensestemperature, the sensor that senses gas, and the sensor that sensesweight, respectively. Each type of sensors may include the first sensingmodule 310 that senses a temperature related to food, regardless ofsensor types. Thus, the sensor may detect information related to atemperature of food or a temperature within the refrigerator, regardlessof a type (e.g., a temperature, a humidity, a gas, a weight, etc.) ofinformation as a sensing target, and may detect a storage start timepoint of food by using the detected information.

As described above, in FIGS. 4B to 4D, the relative disposition of thefirst sensing module 310 to third sensing module 370 are illustrated,but components of the sensor according to the present disclosure are notlimited to the disclosed relative disposition illustrated in FIGS. 4B to4D. Various components of the sensor may have alternative dispositionsbased on the intended application.

Hereinafter, application of various types of sensors 300 described abovewith reference to FIGS. 3A to 3I and 4A to 4D will be described. In anembodiment, when food such as meat is first stored in the refrigerator,the sensor 300 having a mark 300 related to meat is attached to food ora container accommodating the food. When an operation switch 302 of theattached sensor 300 is turned on, the sensor control module 330 maydetect whether the food with the sensor 300 attached thereto is storedin the refrigerator. The sensor control module 330 may switch anoperation mode of the sensor 300 from an OFF mode to an inactive mode onthe basis of a user input applied to the operation switch 302. Here, thesensor control module 330 of the sensor operated in the inactive modemay control the battery 320 to supply minimum electric power requiredfor detecting whether food is stored in the refrigerator to an internalcomponent of the sensor 300.

In order to detect whether food with the sensor 300 attached thereto isstored in the refrigerator, the sensor control module 330 usesinformation sensed from at least one of first to fourth sensing modules.When the sensor control module 330 detects a storage start time point offood using at least one of the first to fourth sensing modules, thesensor control module 330 switches the sensor 300 to an active mode. Forexample, when a storage start time point of food is detected, the firstto fourth sensing modules of the sensor 300 starts to sense stateinformation for a type of food (e.g., meat).

Also, the sensor communication module 340 may transmit informationrelated to a recommended storage temperature, a recommended storagehumidity, and a recommended storage period of meat stored in the sensorcontrol module 330 to the communication unit of the refrigerator 1000.Also, the sensor communication module 340 may transmit state informationof food sensed by the first to fourth sensing modules at a predeterminedtime interval or in real time to the communication unit of therefrigerator 1000.

Accordingly, the refrigerator control unit of the refrigerator 1000 maydetect that food with the sensor 300 attached thereto is stored in therefrigerator and may process information related to the type of the foodto be stored, the recommended storage temperature, the recommendedstorage humidity, and the recommended storage period according to thetype. Also, the refrigerator control unit of the refrigerator 1000 mayprocess state information of the food with the sensor 300 attachedthereto, determine whether the food has spoiled using the stateinformation, or calculate a remaining retention period of thecorresponding food.

The sensor 300 illustrated in FIGS. 4A to 4D may detect a storage starttime point at which food starts to be stored within the refrigerator1000. For example, the sensor 300 may detect a time point at which auser input is applied to the operation switch 302 or the tact switch 305provided in a portion of the main body 301 as the storage start timepoint.

Also, an illumination sensor or the second sensing module 350 of thesensor 300 may detect information related to an amount of lightirradiated to a point of the main body 301, and detect a storage starttime point on the basis of the detected amount of light. In anembodiment, when an amount of light irradiated to one point of the mainbody 301 is less than or equal to a reference light amount value, thesensor control module 330 may detect a time point at which theirradiated amount of light is reduced to this level, and determine thedetected time point as a storage start time point of the food.

FIG. 10C is a flow chart illustrating a process to detect a time pointat which food is first stored based on the detected amount of light. Theillumination sensor or the second sensing module 350 may detectinformation related to an amount of light irradiated to one point of themain body 301, in step S1001 c.

The sensor control module 330 may determine whether an amount of lightirradiated to one point of the main body 301 is less than a referencelight amount value, in step S1002 c. Also, the sensor control module 330may detect a time point at which an amount of light is reduced to belowthe reference light amount value, and determine the detected time pointas a storage start time point of food, in step S1003 c.

In another embodiment, when an amount of light irradiated to one pointof the main body 301 is greater than or equal to a first light amountreference value, the sensor control module 330 of the sensor 300 maydetermine that storing of food has not started, and operates the sensor300 in an inactive mode.

The battery 320 of the sensor 300 in the inactive mode may supplyelectric power only to a component for sensing an amount of lightirradiated to one point among internal components of the sensor 300.Meanwhile, the battery 320 of the sensor 300 in an OFF state may cut offpower supply to all the internal components of the sensor 300.

Also, when an amount of light irradiated to one point of the main body301 is less than a second light amount reference value, the sensorcontrol module 330 of the sensor 300 may determine that storing of foodhas started. That is, the sensor control module 330 may detect a timepoint at which the amount of light irradiated to one point is reduced tobe less than the second light amount reference value, as a storage starttime point of food. After detecting the storage start time point, thesensor control module 330 may operate the sensor 300 in an active mode.

When an amount of light irradiated to one point is reduced from a valuehigher than the first light amount reference value to a value smallerthan the second light amount reference value within a preset timeinterval, the sensor control module 330 may detect a time point at whichthe irradiated amount of light dropped to below the second light amountreference value as a storage start time point. Here, the first andsecond light amount reference value may be changed or adjusted. In anexample, the first light amount reference value may be set to be higherthan the second light amount reference value.

Also, the weight sensor or the third sensing module 370 of the sensor300 may sense information related to a weight of an object placed on themain body 301 of the sensor 300, and the sensor control module 330 maydetect a storage start time point of food on the basis of informationrelated to the weight. In detail, the sensor control module 330 maydetect a time point at which the weight sensed by the weight sensor orthe third sensing module 370 has been changed by more than a presetweight value as a storage start time point of food. When a change inweight greater than a preset weight value is sensed within a preset timeinterval, the sensor control module 330 may detect a time point at whichthe change in weight is detected as a storage start time point of food.

FIG. 10D is a flowchart illustrating a process to detect a storage starttime point based on detected weight of food. The weight sensor or thethird sensing module 370 may detect a weight applied to the sensor, instep S1001 d. Far example, the weight sensor or the third sensing module370 may detect a weight applied to the sensor at predetermined timeintervals.

The sensor control module 330 may calculate a change in weight appliedto the sensor, and determine whether the calculated change in weight isgreater than or equal to a preset weight value, in step S1002 d. Also,the sensor control module 330 may detect a time point at which thedetected weight is changed by more than the preset weight value as astorage start time point of food, in step S1003 d. Meanwhile, before thestorage start time point of food is detected, the sensor control module300 may operate the sensor 300 in an inactive mode.

Also, the temperature sensor or the first sensing module 310 of thesensor 300 may sense information related to a temperature sensed by thesensor 300, and the sensor control module 330 may detect a storage starttime point of food on the basis of the information related to thetemperature. In detail, the sensor control module 330 may detect a timepoint at which the sensed temperature is reduced to below the referencetemperature value, as a storage start time point of food. Here, thesensor communication module 340 may receive information related to a settemperature of the refrigerating chamber or the freezing chamber of therefrigerator 1000 from the communication unit 1020, and the sensorcontrol module 330 may set the reference temperature value on the basisof the set temperature.

FIG. 10A is a flowchart of a process to detect a storage start timepoint based on sensed temperature. The temperature sensor or the firstsensing module 310 may sense a temperature at a portion of the sensor300 in contact with the conductive member 380, in step S1001. Here, thetemperature sensing period may be changeable and, preferably, thetemperature sensor or the first sensing module 310 may sense thetemperature in real time. Thereafter, the sensor control module 330 maydetermine whether the sensed temperature is reduced to below a referencetemperature value, in step S1002. For example, the reference temperaturevalue may be directly set by the user.

In another example, the sensor control module 330 may set a referencetemperature value according to types classified according to food groupsof the corresponding sensor. That is, the sensor control module 330 mayset different reference temperature values when the correspondingsensors are a sensor for meat and a sensor for fruit.

The sensor control module 330 may include a sensor memory module thatstores information related to a type of a preset sensor, and the sensorcontrol module 330 may set a reference temperature value usinginformation related the stored type of a sensor. Also, the sensor memorymodule may store information related to at least one of an appropriatestorage period in the refrigerating chamber, an appropriate storageperiod in the freezing chamber, an appropriate storage temperature, anda notification message to be output when the appropriate storage periodhas elapsed.

In another example, the sensor control module 330 may set the referencetemperature value using information related to refrigerating chamber settemperature or freezing chamber set temperature received from thecommunication unit 1020. In addition, the sensor control module 330 maydetect a time point at which the sensed temperature is reduced to belowthe reference temperature value as a storage start time point of food,in step S1003. In an embodiment, when a change in temperature greaterthan the preset temperature is sensed, the sensor control module 330 maydetect the time point at which the temperature change was sensed as afood storage start time point.

FIG. 10B is a flowchart of this process to detect the storage start timepoint based on the detected change in temperature. An initialtemperature may be sensed, in step 31001. The sensor control module 330may calculate a temperature variation using a temperature sensed at apredetermined time interval, and determine whether a temperature changeexceeds a preset temperature value, in step S1002 b. Thereafter, whenthe sensor control module 330 detects a temperature change greater thana preset temperature value, the corresponding time point is detected asa storage start time point of food. For example, the sensor controlmodule 330 may reset a reference value regarding a temperature changeaccording to a refrigerator chamber setting temperature and a freezingchamber setting temperature.

Also, when battery charging for battery 320 has completed or stopped,the sensor control module 330 may detect a time point at which chargingis stopped as a storage start time point of food. Also, when the sensorcommunication module 340 establishes communication with thecommunication unit 1020 of the refrigerator 1000, the sensor controlmodule 330 may detect a time point at which communication is establishedbetween the sensor communication module 340 and the communication unit1020 as a storage start time point of food.

Also, when a time point at which communication between the sensorcontrol module 330 and the communication unit 1020 is established iswithin a predetermined amount of time after battery charging hasstopped, the sensor control module 330 may detect a time point at whichcommunication is established, as a storage start time point of food.

In the above examples, embodiments in which the sensor 300 detects astorage start time point of food using various types of information hasbeen described, but the method for detecting the storage start timepoint is not limited thereto. Moreover, it should be appreciated thatthe aforementioned embodiments may not in all cases be independentlyperformed, but the sensor 300 may use a plurality of parameters todetermine whether food storage has started. That is, the sensor 300 mayset a weight value of information related to a temperature change, aweight change, a light amount change, and the like, and detect a storagestart time point of food on the basis of the set weight values.

FIG. 10E is a flowchart illustrating a process to detect a storage starttime point based on multiple sensed parameters. The sensor controlmodule 330 may primarily determine whether a temperature sensed in atemperature sensing step S1001 is a reference temperature value orlower, in step S1002. Thereafter, when the sensed temperature isdetermined to be lower than the reference temperature value, the sensorcontrol module 330 may determine whether a detected light amount in stepS1001 c is less than a reference light amount value, in step S1002 c,determine whether a detected weight in step S1001 d is greater than orequal to a reference with value, in step S1002 d.

Thereafter, the sensor control module 330 may detect any one of a timepoint at which a temperature is reduced to below a referencetemperature, a time point at which an amount of light is reduced tobelow a reference light amount value, and a time point at which a weighthas changed by more than a preset weight value, as a storage start pointof food, in step S1003 e. Preferably, the sensor control module 330 maydetermine a storage start point on the basis of preset weight values oftemperature, amount of light, and weight as a storage start time pointor may determine a first or last detected time point among time pointsrelated to the aforementioned three parameters as a storage start point.

Also, in the aforementioned embodiments, the refrigerator control unit1080 of the refrigerator 1000 may detect a storage start time point offood using various information sensed by the sensor 300. When therefrigerator control unit detects a storage start time point, therefrigerator control unit 1080 may detect a storage start time point offood using information related to opening and closing of a door of therefrigerator 1000, together with the aforementioned change in weight,temperature, and an amount of light.

As mentioned above, since the sensor control module 330 of the sensor300 or the refrigerator control unit 1080 of the refrigerator 1000 maydetect a storage start point of each food stored in the refrigerator,even when the user does not apply a separate setting input, therefrigerator control unit 1080 may detect whether food has been newlyintroduced to the refrigerator 1000 and detect a storage start point ofthe corresponding food. Thus, the user of the refrigerator 1000 mayobtain an effect of monitoring information related to a state of eachfood kept in the refrigerator in real time.

Hereinafter, an embodiment related to a main screen including stateinformation of food displayed on a display unit of the mobile terminalincluded in the refrigerator control system according to the presentdisclosure will be described.

Some of a screens displayed in FIGS. 5A to 5C may be displayed on thedisplay unit 151 of the mobile terminal 100, and a portion displayed onthe display unit 151 may be changed according to a user's input. Forexample, a portion of a screen displayed on the display unit 151 may bechanged according to a drag input, but for the convenience ofdescription, only one screen is illustrated in FIGS. 5A to 5C.

Referring to FIG. 5A, when a predetermined application for checkingstatus of food in a refrigerator is executed in the mobile terminal 100,the controller 180 may control the display unit 151 to output a mainscreen 500 of the application. The main screen 500 may include at leastone of a first region 510, a second region 520, a third region 530, afourth region 540, a fifth region 550, and a sixth region 560.

Information related to a main title of the application may be displayedin the first region 510. For example, the first region 510 may includeat least one of a home button 511 for displaying a main screen of theapplication, information related to a main title 512 of the application,and a setting menu button 513 of the application.

For example, when a touch input is applied to the home button 511 outputon the display unit 151, the controller 180 may control the display unit151 to output a main screen 500. For example, the home button 511 may beoutput as illustrated in FIG. 5A even when a different screen related toanother application is output, and when a touch input is applied to thehome button 511, the controller 180 may control the display unit 151 tooutput the main screen 500.

At least one of an icon 521 related to an application and information522 related to the number of sensors 300 disposed in the refrigerator1000 may be displayed in the second region 520. The information 522related to the number of the sensors 300 may correspond to the number offoods stored in the refrigerator 1000.

Pieces of information 531, 532, and 532 a related to food on which apredetermined cooking process is performed may be displayed in the thirdregion 530. Here, at least one information 531 related to a name of acooking process, information 532 related to a progress of the cookingprocess, and information 532 related to a type of target food may beoutput in the third region 530. For example, the cooking process mayinclude a thawing (defrosting) process of each food group, a process ofadjusting a certain temperature of food to a specific temperature, aprocess of making ice, creating a thin layer of ice in a container, oranother appropriate type of process based on the desired application.

In another example, the controller 180 may update information related toa degree of performing a cooking process in real time. In particular,when the cooking process is a thawing process, display of informationrelated to food on which a cooling process is being performed displayedin the third region 530 may be stopped, and a graphic object related tothe corresponding food may be displayed in the fourth region 540 fordisplaying cold storage food. In another example, information 531related to a name of a cooking process may include information relatedto food corresponding to the cooking process or the number of sensors.

The communication unit 110 of the mobile terminal 100 may receiveidentification information of the sensor 300 attached to food under apredetermined cooking process from the communication unit 1020 of therefrigerator 1000. Using the received identification information, thecontroller 180 may determine whether the predetermined cooking processis being performed regarding the sensor 300 corresponding to thereceived identification information.

When different cooking processes are being performed on a plurality offoods stored in the refrigerator 1000, the controller 180 may controlthe display unit 151 to display pieces of information 531, 532, and 532a related to food under the cooking processes. For example, thecontroller 180 may divide the third region 530 to display informationsensed by the sensor 300 according to each cooking process.

In the fourth region 540, graphic objects 541 a, 541 b, and 541 crelated to state information sensed by the sensor 300 attached to eachrefrigerated food. In this case, the controller 180 may determinewhether a corresponding food has spoiled based on state information offood sensed by the sensor 300 attached to the refrigerated food (coldstorage food).

The sensor 300 may sense information related to gas generated by thefood, and the controller may determine whether the food to which thesensor 300 is attached has spoiled upon receiving information related tothe gas from the communication unit 1020 of the refrigerator 1000. Forexample, the controller 180 may receive information related to a typeand amount of a gas generated when each food group spoils from theserver 200, or may receive information related to a type and amount of agas generated when each food group spoils from the memory 170 or thememory unit 1060. Also, based on information related to a gas generatedby the food to which the sensor 300 is attached, the controller 180 maydetermine whether the corresponding food to which the sensor is attachedhas spoiled.

When it is determined that the food has spoiled, the controller 180 mayoutput a graphic object 541 a representing that the corresponding foodhas spoiled. When it is determined that the corresponding food has notspoiled, the controller 180 may output graphic objects 541 b and 541 crelated to a remaining period up to a time point at which thecorresponding food is predicted to spoil.

For example, when it is determined that the corresponding food has notspoiled, the controller 180 may compare a storage start time point offood detected by the sensor 300 attached to the corresponding food and acurrent time point, and output graphic objects 541 b and 541 c relatedto a recommended storage period and a remaining period relative to anexpiration date.

Referring to FIG. 5A, in the fifth region 550, a graphic object relatedto state information sensed by the sensor 300 attached to each of frozenfoods (freezing storage foods) may be displayed. Here, the controller180 may determine whether a corresponding food has spoiled or a timepoint at which the corresponding food is predicted to spoil on the basisof state information of the food sensed by the sensor 300 attached tothe frozen food (freezing storage food). Also, in the sixth region 560,a graphic object related to state information sensed by the sensor 300attached to each food stored at room temperature may be displayed.

The main screen 500 illustrated in FIG. 5A may include the graphicobjects respectively corresponding to foods stored in the refrigerator1000, Thus, in order to output the main screen 500, the memory unit 1060of the refrigerator 1000 or the memory 170 of the mobile terminal 100may store a database including information related to at least onesensor 300 present within the refrigerator 1000.

The database may include a plurality of data having identificationinformation of the sensor 300 as an index, and the plurality of data mayinclude state information related to a state of food sensed by eachsensor 300 and food information related to food. In an example, theidentification information of the sensor 300 may include informationrelated to a type of sensor classified according to each food group anda unique ID allocated to each sensor.

In another example, the state information may include informationrelated to at least one of a surface temperature of food, a temperatureand humidity of the inside of a container accommodating food, a type andan amount of gas generated by food, and a weight of food. The stateinformation may be updated in real time, and state information sensed ata time point at which food is first stored in the refrigerator may bestored separately.

In another example, the food information may include information relatedto a cooking process set for food. Also, the food information mayinclude information related to at least one of recommended use-by date,a recommended storage temperature, recommended storage humidity, oranother appropriate type of information.

For example, the database may include information related to atemperature and humidity of food, a generated gas, and a weight of foodat a current time point, as well as information related to a temperatureand humidity of food, a generated gas, and a weight of food at a timepoint at which food is first stored in the refrigerator 1000. Also, suchinformation may be classified for each sensor 300 and stored. Thus, thecontroller 180 of the mobile terminal 100 may use the database in orderto output the main screen 500 including a graphic object related tocurrently stored food.

Each of the graphic objects related to foods displayed in the third tosixth regions may correspond to each food, and includes an image relatedto food. For example, an image related to food may be set as a defaultimage according to types of sensors attached to each food, and may bechanged to a unique image according to a user input.

As illustrated in FIG. 5B, when food under a cooking process is notpresent within the refrigerator 1000, the controller 180 may control thedisplay unit 151 not to display the third region 530 in the main screen500. In another example, even when there is no food for cold storage,food for freezing storage, or food stored at room temperature within therefrigerator 1000, the controller 180 may display the fourth to sixthregions and control the display unit 151 to output a message indicatingthat there is no food stored in each region. The controller 180 maydivide the main screen 500 to include at least one of the third to sixthregions.

Referring to FIG. 5C, whenever food is stored in the refrigerator, thecontroller 180 may detect a position in which food is stored, andcontrol the display unit 151 to add a graphic object related to the foodto a partial region of the main screen 500 corresponding to the detectedposition. For example, the cant roller 180 may detect a position inwhich food is stored using information set in the sensor 300. That is,here, the sensor may be classified as a sensor for cold storage,freezing storage, and room temperature storage, and an appropriatesensor may be attached according to a position in which food is to bestored.

In another example, the controller 180 may detect a position in whichfood is stored on the basis of information sensed in a positiondetection module disposed in the sensor 300. In another example, thecontroller 180 may detect whether a sensor 300 has been introduced froman image captured by a camera installed in the refrigerating chamber,the freezing chamber, or a room temperature storage chamber of therefrigerator 1000, and detect a position in which food is storedaccordingly.

In another example, when it is determined that a new sensor 300 has beenintroduced to the inside of the refrigerator 1000, the controller 180may output on the display unit 151 to output a window for receiving auser input related to a position in which food is stored. Here, thecontroller 180 may set information related to a position in which foodis stored based on the user input applied to the window.

FIGS. 6A to 6F illustrate various embodiments related to a sub-screenincluding state information of food displayed on the display unit of themobile terminal included in the refrigerator control system according tothe present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 6A, when a touch input isapplied to at least one graphic object included in the main screen 500illustrated in FIG. 5A, the controller 180 may switch the output mainscreen 500 to a sub-screen 600.

The sub-screen 600 may include a return button 610 for returning to themain screen 500. Also, the sub-screen 600 may include pieces ofinformation 620 a, 620 b, and 620 c related to food corresponding to thegraphic object applied to the touch input. For example, informationrelated to food may include information related to an image 620 a offood, a name 620 b of food, and a recommended use-by date 620 c.

Also, the sub-screen 600 may include at least one of information 621related to a recommended use-by date of food, information 622 related toa storage period, information 623 related to a current temperature offood, and information 6254 related to a current humidity around food.

Also, the sub-screen 600 may include pieces of information 631, 632,633, 634, and 635 related to a sensor attached to food. For example, thesub-screen 600 may include a type 631 of sensor, a remaining batterypower 632, a recommended use-by date 633 of the sensor, a recommendedstorage temperature 634 of the sensor, and a recommended storagehumidity 635 of the sensor.

Also, the sub-screen 600 may include pieces of information 641, 642, and643 related to a notification setting related to food. For example, thesub-screen 600 may include a button 641 that allows the user to selectwhether to receive a notification about food and check boxes 642 and 643that allows the user to select whether to receive a notificationregarding whether a state of foods satisfies a specific condition. Forexample, the specific condition may be a condition regarding whether thefood has reached a thawing temperature, or whether a storage period offood has reached a recommended use-by period.

Similarly, referring to FIG. 6B, in the case of the sub-screen 600corresponding to a different type of food from FIG. 6A, pieces ofinformation 620 a, 620 b, and 620 c related to a graphic object to whicha touch input was applied, pieces of information 631, 632, 633, 634, and635 related to a sensor attached to food, and pieces of information 641,642, and 643 related to a notification setting related to the food mayalso be different from the pieces of information illustrated in FIG. 6A.

Referring to FIGS. 6C and 6D, when the sensor 300 attached to foodcorresponding to the graphic object to which the touch input was appliedhas a separate freshness maintaining member, the sub-screen 600 mayinclude information 660 related to the freshness maintaining member. Forexample, the information 660 related to the freshness maintaining membermay include information related to an ON/OFF state, a type, a remainingpower amount, and the like, of the freshness maintaining member.Referring to FIG. 6D, when the freshness maintaining member is an oxygenremoving agent, the sub-screen 600 may include a check box 644 thatallows a user to select to receive a notification regarding spoilage offood.

Referring to FIG. 6E, when the sensor 300 attached to food correspondingto a graphic object to which a touch input was applied is a weightsensor, the sub-screen 600 may include information related to aremaining amount of food. Also, when the sensor 300 is a weight sensor,the sub-screen 600 may include a check box 645 that allows a user toselect to receive a notification regarding whether a remaining amount ofcorresponding food is sufficient or whether the corresponding food isrequired to be purchased again.

Also, referring to FIG. 6F, when a specific food group is not set in thesensor 300 attached to food corresponding to a graphic object to which atouch input is applied, the cant roller 180 may control the display unit151 to output buttons 629, 639, and 649 for adding or changing an itemto be displayed on the sub-screen 600.

FIGS. 7A to 7G illustrate various embodiments of a setting menu relatedto a main screen displayed on the display unit of the mobile terminalincluded in the refrigerator control system according to the presentdisclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 7A, when a touch input is applied toa setting menu button 613 included in the main screen 500, thecontroller 180 may control the display unit 151 to display a settingmenu on the main screen 500. The setting menu 510 a may include aplurality of setting buttons 511, 512 a, 51 a, and 514 a. For example,when a touch input is applied to the first setting button 511 of thesetting menu 510 a, the controller 180 may control the display unit 151to output a setting screen 700 for setting a cooking process regardingfood to be newly stored.

For example, referring to FIG. 7B, the setting screen 700 may includeicons 721 and 722 related to a cooking process. The icon 721 may includeinformation 721 a related to a target temperature of a cooking process,and may include text information 721 b related to a cooking process.Also, the setting screen 700 may include a return button 711 forreceiving a user input for returning to a previous step in which thesetting menu 510 a was displayed.

Also, referring to FIG. 7C, when a touch input is applied to any one ofa plurality of icons 721 and 722 included in the setting screen 700, thecontroller 180 may control the display unit 151 to output an image andtext information 730 for guiding a cooking process corresponding to theicon 721 or 722 to which the touch input was applied.

Referring to FIG. 7D, when food to which the sensor 300 is attached isstored in the refrigerator 1000 according to the output image and textinformation 730, the controller 180 may control the display unit 151 tooutput information 740 related to the progress of the set cookingprocess. For example, the information 740 related to the progress of thecooking process may include information 741 related to a completion rateof the cooking process and information 742 related to a temperature offood as a cooking process target.

In detail, the refrigerator control unit 1080 may output an icon 721related to the process of cooling a beverage to a target temperature onthe setting screen 700. When a user input is applied to the icon 721,the refrigerator control unit 1080 may output image information and textinformation 730 related to a type of a sensor for cooling the beverageto a target temperature and a type of an attachment member to beattached to the sensor. For example, the refrigerator control unit 1080may output an image 730 related to the sensor to which a mark indicatinga cooling process is displayed, and the image may include informationrelated to a band type attachment member coupled to the sensor.

The user may select a sensor of a type corresponding to the displayedimage 730 from a sensor type set, couple the selected of sensor and theband type attachment member, attach the sensor to the beverage using theband type attachment member, and store the same in the refrigerator. Onthe basis of information transmitted from the sensor attached to thestored beverage, the refrigerator control unit 1080 may detect a storagestart time point of the beverage. Also, when the storage start timepoint of the beverage is detected, the refrigerator control unit 1080may output an image 740 related to a cooling process of the beverage.The image 740 related to the cooling process of the beverage may includeinformation 741 (e.g., progress bar) related to a progress degree to atarget temperature set in the beverage and information 742 related to acurrent temperature of the beverage.

Also, referring to FIG. 7E, when a touch input is applied to a secondsetting button 712 of the setting menu 510 a, the controller 180 maycontrol the display unit 151 to output a setting screen 700 for settinga reference for repurchasing food to be newly stored. For example, thesetting screen 700 may include an icon 760 related to a re-purchasereference. The icon 760 related to the re-purchase reference may includea number button 762 for setting a weight reference related tore-purchase, unit information 763 of the weight reference, andinformation 761 related to a ratio of a remaining amount to a storagestart time point. Also, the setting information 700 may include a button750 for converting unit information 763.

Also, referring to FIG. 7F, when a touch input is applied to a thirdsetting button 513 of the setting menu 510 a, the controller 180 mayoutput a window for inputting a message to be displayed on an outputunit 1070 or the display 1700 attached to a front surface of therefrigerator 1000. The window for inputting the message may include abox 771 for inputting a recipient of the message, a box 772 forinputting contents of the body of the message, and a button 773 fortransmitting the input message.

Also, referring to FIG. 7G, when a touch input is applied to a fourthsetting button 514 of the setting menu 510 a, the controller 180 mayoutput version information of an application, identification informationof communication established with the refrigerator 1000, informationrelated to a main title of an application, and identificationinformation 781 of communication established between the refrigerator1000 and the sensor 300.

Hereinafter, embodiments of information related to food displayed on theoutput unit of the refrigerator according to the present disclosure willbe described with reference to FIGS. 8A to 8J. As illustrated in FIG.8A, the output unit 1070 or the display 1700 of the refrigerator 1000may output a graphic object related to at least one of state informationof food sensed by the sensor 300 or food information of food stored inthe memory unit 1060. When a predetermined application for checking foodstored in the refrigerator 1000 is executed in the refrigerator 1000,the refrigerator control unit 1080 may control the output unit 1070 tooutput a main screen 800 of the application.

In detail, the main screen 800 may include at least one of a first part810, a second part 820, a third part 830, a fourth part 840, and a fifthpart 850. Information related to a main title of the application may bedisplayed in the first part 810. Also, information related to a currenttime may be output in the first part 810.

Information related to a number of sensors 300 disposed within therefrigerator 1000 may be displayed in the second part 820. Theinformation related to the number of the sensors 300 may correspond tothe number of foods stored in the refrigerator 1000.

A graphic object 831 corresponding to food that is safe, e.g., whosetime interval from a current time point to a time point at which thefood is predicted to spoil is a reference time interval or greater, maybe displayed in the third part 830. The graphic object 831 maycorrespond to food whose recommended use period or expiration date settherein is determined not to have arrived yet, and may be displayed inthe third part 830. A graphic object 841 for food that has reachedexpiration may be displayed in the fourth part 840. A graphic object 851corresponding to articles determined to have spoiled may be displayed inthe fifth part 850.

Compared with FIG. 5A, the output unit 1070 of the refrigerator 1000 maydivide the main screen 800 according to whether a spoilage time point offood has not arrived, whether the spoilage time point of food hasarrived, or whether the spoilage time point of food has elapsed. On theother hand, the main screen 800 output on the output unit 1070 may bedivided according to a food storage position or cooking processaccording to the same purpose as that of the main screen 500. Moreover,a button 900 for receiving a user input for changing information to bedisplayed on the output unit 1070 may be output in a portion of theoutput unit 1070.

Referring to FIG. 8B, when a new food is first stored in therefrigerator 1000, the refrigerator control unit 1080 may control theoutput unit 1070 to output an image 861 related to a type of food towhich the sensor 300 is attached and text information 862 related to thetype of the food. For example, when new food is first added to therefrigerator 1000, the sensor 300 may detect a storage start time pointat which the food is first stored in the refrigerator 1000, and therefrigerator control unit 1080 may control the output unit 1070 tooutput the graphic objects 861 and 862 including notificationinformation related to the food which is added at the storage start timepoint. Also, referring to FIG. 8C, the notification information relatedto food may include information 863 related to a food group of the foodand a storage position of the food.

Referring to FIG. 8D, when a food which is determined to be required tobe purchased again is identified among foods stored in the refrigerator1000, the refrigerator control unit 1080 may control the output unit1070 to output a graphic object 864 including notification informationrelated to re-purchase of the corresponding food.

Referring to FIG. 8E, the refrigerator control unit 1080 may determinewhether some of the entire food groups are required to be purchasedagain. When food corresponding to a food group whose re-purchase isrequired to be determined is newly added to the refrigerator, therefrigerator control unit 1080 may control the output unit 1070 suchthat information related to a remaining amount of food is included inthe graphic object 865 related to the food.

As illustrated in FIG. 8F, when a storage period of food has elapsed apreset recommended use-by date of corresponding food, the refrigeratorcontrol unit 1080 may control the output unit 1070 such thatnotification information 866 for indicating whether the correspondingfood has elapsed is included in the graphic object.

Referring to FIG. 8G, when a storage period of food corresponds to arecommended use-by date previously set in a corresponding food, therefrigerator control unit 1080 may control the output unit 1070 toinclude notification information 867 for indicating a correspondingrecommended use-by date of the corresponding food in the graphic object.Here, the refrigerator control unit 1080 may control the output unit1070 to include notification information 867 for indicating whether therecommended use-by date has arrived in the graphic object. Also, therefrigerator control unit 1080 may control the output unit 1070 toinclude notification information 867 in the graphic object forindicating whether a time point at which food is predicted to spoil hasarrived.

Referring to FIG. 8H, the refrigerator control unit 1080 may determinewhether food has spoiled, and control the output unit 1070 to includenotification information 868 for indicating whether food has spoiled inthe graphic object. Referring to FIG. 8I, when a predetermined cookingprocess is performed on stored food, the refrigerator control unit 1080may control the output unit 1070 to include information 869 related tothe progress of the cooking process in the graphic object. Referring toFIG. 8J, when the predetermined cooking process performed on the storedfood is completed; the refrigerator control unit 1080 may control theoutput unit 1070 to include information 869 a related to completion ofthe cooking process in the graphic object.

Hereinafter, embodiments of information related to food displayed on theoutput unit of the refrigerator according to the present disclosure willbe described with reference to FIGS. 9A to 9C. As illustrated in FIG.9A, when a touch input is applied to at least one graphic objectincluded in a main screen 800 illustrated in FIG. 8A, the refrigeratorcontrol unit 1080 may switch the output main screen 800 to a sub-screen870. The sub-screen 870 may include at least one of an image 871 offood, text information 872 related to a food group, information 873related a condition of the food, information 874 related to a storageperiod, and information 875 related to a recommended use-by date.

FIGS. 9B and 9C illustrate the output unit outputting a message screen880 received from each of a plurality of mobile terminals included inthe refrigerator control system. The message screen 880 may include animage 881 related to a message sender and text information 882 relatedto contents of the body of the message.

According to the present disclosure, since the user receives informationrelated to an expiration date of food from the sensor attached to eachfood stored in the refrigerator, an effect of easily maintainingfreshness of food is obtained.

Also, according to the present disclosure, since information related toan expiration date of food is provided to the user, spoilage of foodstored in the refrigerator may be prevented, and thus, an effect ofenhancing health of the user of the refrigerator may be obtained.

Also, according to the present disclosure, since information related toan expiration date of food is provided to the user, the user may easilyestablish a use plan regarding food stored in the refrigerator.

Also, according to the present disclosure, since information related toa remaining amount of food is provided to the user, the user maypurchase corresponding food before the food stored in the refrigeratoris consumed, thereby preventing periods in which desired or requiredfood is not available.

Also, according to the present disclosure, since a time point at whicheach food starts to be stored is individually detected without requiringuser manipulation or user input, an effect of enhancing user convenienceis obtained.

Also, according to the present disclosure, since a sensor having varioustypes of attachment members is provided, information related to variousmetrics such as a temperature of food, humidity within a containeraccommodating food, and a gas generated in food may be easily detected.

Therefore, an aspect of the detailed description is to provide a sensorcapable of detecting information related to an appropriate storageperiod of each food stored in a refrigerator, and calculating anexpiration date on the basis of a detected storage period of each food,and a refrigerator including the sensor.

Another aspect of the detailed description is to provide a sensorcapable of preventing smells of various food groups stored in arefrigerator from being mixed and contaminating foods, while sensinginformation of each food, thus improving food hygiene and userconvenience, and a refrigerator including the sensor.

Another aspect of the detailed description is to provide a sensorcapable of sensing whether food stored in a refrigerator has spoiled,and providing a sensing result to a user, and a refrigerator includingthe sensor.

Another aspect of the detailed description is to provide a sensorcapable of transferring re-purchase notification information to a userin order to allow the user to recognize whether corresponding foodstored in a refrigerator is required to be re-purchased before beingwholly consumed, and a refrigerator including the sensor.

Another aspect of the detailed description is to provide a sensorcapable of detecting a temperature of food stored in a refrigerator inreal time and providing information related to an appropriate cookingmethod regarding the corresponding food, and a refrigerator includingthe sensor.

Another aspect of the detailed description is to provide a sensorcapable of remotely providing state information of food stored in arefrigerator to a user who is away from the refrigerator at apredetermined distance or longer, and a refrigerator including thesensor.

Another aspect of the detailed description is to provide a sensor whichis directly attached to food or attached to a container accommodatingfood in order to sense state information related to a state of each foodstored in a refrigerator, and a refrigerator including the sensor.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof this specification, as embodied and broadly described herein, asensor package may have installed thereon food information related torefrigerated (cold storage-related) food by kinds of food, wherein, onan appearance of the sensor package, a mark classified by kinds of foodand indicating a kind of food allocated to the sensor package to allow auser to recognize a kind of food is disposed, and wherein, on the insideof the sensor package, a battery providing electric power to the sensorpackage and an operation switch cutting off or permitting power supplyto the battery, a memory configured to store food informationcorresponding to a kind of the indicated food, a sensor communicationmodule configured to perform communication with a display disposed in arefrigerator, a sensing module configured to sense state informationcorresponding to the sensor package, and a sensor control modulecontrolling the sensor communication module to initiate communicationbetween the sensor package and the display of the refrigerator on thebasis of state information sensed by the sensing module, may bedisposed.

The sensing module may detect information related to a temperature ofone point of the sensor package, and the sensor control module maydetect a storage start time point on the basis of information related tothe detected temperature. The sensor control module may detect a timepoint at which the sensed temperature is reduced to below a referencetemperature value, as a storage start time point of food.

When a change in temperature equal to higher than a preset temperaturevalue is sensed, the sensor control module may detect a time point atwhich the change in temperature is sensed, as a storage start time pointof food.

The sensing module may detect information related to an amount of lightirradiated to one point of the sensor package, and the sensor controlmodule may detect the storage start time point on the basis of thedetected amount of light.

When an amount of light irradiated to one point of the sensor package isreduced to below a reference light amount value, the sensor controlmodule may detect a time point at which the irradiated amount of lightis reduced to below a reference light amount value, as the storage starttime point.

The sensing module may detect information related to a weight of anobject placed at one point of the sensor package, and the sensor controlmodule may detect the storage start time point on the basis ofinformation related to the detected weight. The sensor control modulemay detect a time point at which the detected weight is changed by morethan a preset weight value, as a storage start time point of food.

The display of the refrigerator may further include a communication unitconfigured to perform wireless communication with the sensor package,and the sensor control module may detect a time point at whichcommunication is established between the sensor communication module andthe communication unit, as a storage start time point of food. Moreover,the food information may include information related to at least one ofa cooking process, a recommended use-by date, a recommended storagetemperature, and a recommended storage humidity set for the food.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof this specification, as embodied and broadly described herein, arefrigerator may include: a sensor configured to sense state informationrelated to a state of food present within a refrigerator; a memory unitconfigured to store food information related to the food; an output unitconfigured to output a graphic object related to at least one of stateinformation sensed by the sensor and food information stored in thememory unit; and a refrigerator control unit configured to setinformation related to the graphic object by comparing the informationsensed by the sensor and setting information stored in the memory unit,wherein a mark classified by kinds of food and indicating a kind of foodallocated to the sensor package to allow a user to recognize a kind offood is disposed, and the sensor detects a storage start time point atwhich the food starts to be stored in the refrigerator and senses thestate information from the detected storage start time point.

The refrigerator may control the output unit to output notificationinformation related to the food which starts to be stored at the storagestart time point. The refrigerator control unit may control the outputunit to output at least one graphic object corresponding to each of atleast one food present within the refrigerator.

The refrigerator control unit may control the output unit to change anoutput graphic among at least one graphic object, on the basis of a userinput applied to the output unit. When a user input is applied to theoutput graphic object, the refrigerator control unit may control theoutput unit to display information related to food corresponding to thegraphic object to which the user input is applied.

The information related food may include at least one of the stateinformation sensed at a storage start time point of the food, stateinformation of the food sensed at a current time point, and foodinformation related to the food. The state information may includeinformation related to a weight of the food, and the controller maycontrol the output unit to output information related to a remainingamount of the food on the basis of information related to a weight ofthe food.

The controller may compare a weight of the food at the storage starttime point, a weight of the food at a current time point, determinewhether the food is insufficient on the basis of the comparison result,and control the output unit to output information related to thedetermination result.

The sensor may detect information related to an amount of lightirradiated to one point of the sensor, and the refrigerator control unitmay detect the storage start time point on the basis of the detectedamount of light. When an amount of light irradiated to one point isreduced by within a preset time interval from above a first light amountreference value to below a second light amount reference value, therefrigerator control unit may detect a time point at which theirradiated amount of light is dropped to below the second light amountreference value, as the storage start time point.

The sensor may detect information related to a weight of an objectplaced at one point of the sensor, and the refrigerator control unit maydetect the storage start time point on the basis of information relatedto the detected weight. The refrigerator control unit may detect a timepoint at which the detected weight is changed by more than a presetweight value, as a storage start time point of food.

The sensor may detect information related to a temperature of one pointof the sensor, and the refrigerator control unit may detect the storagestart time point on the basis of the detected information related to thetemperature. The refrigerator control unit may detect a time point atwhich the sensed temperature is reduced to below a reference temperaturevalue, as a storage start time point of food. Moreover, when a change intemperature equal to or greater than a preset temperature value issensed, the refrigerator control unit may detect a time point at whichthe change in temperature is sensed; as a storage start time point offood.

The refrigerator may further include: a communication unit configured toperform wireless communication, wherein the refrigerator control unitmay detect a time point at which communication is established betweenthe sensor and the communication unit; as a storage start time point.

The sensor may detect information related to a kind and a generationamount of a gas generated from food, and the refrigerator control unitmay detect information related to a food group of food to which thesensor is attached; and determine whether the food has spoiled on thebasis of information related to the sensed kind and generation amount ofthe gas.

When it is determined that the food has spoiled, the refrigeratorcontrol unit may control the output unit such that a graphic objectcorresponding to the food includes notification information related towhether the food has spoiled. Moreover, the food information may includeinformation related to at least one of a cooking process, a recommendeduse-by date, a recommended storage temperature, and a recommendedstorage humidity set for the food.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof this specification, as embodied and broadly described herein, arefrigerator control system may include a sensor, a refrigerator, and aterminal. The sensor may be attached to food present within therefrigerator to detect a storage start time point at which the foodstarts to be stored in the refrigerator and sense the state informationfrom the detected storage start time point. The refrigerator mayinclude: communication unit configured to receive state informationsensed by the sensor and perform communication with the terminal; amemory unit configured to store at least one of the received stateinformation and food information related to the food; an output unitconfigured to output a graphic object related to at least one of thestate information sensed by the sensor and food information stored inthe memory; and a refrigerator control unit configured to setinformation related to the graphic object by comparing the informationsensed by the sensor and food information stored in the memory, and theterminal includes: a communication unit configured to performcommunication with the communication unit; an input unit configured toreceive a user input related to the food information; and a display unitconfigured to output information at least one of state informationrelated to the food and food information; and a controller configured tocontrol the display unit on the basis of the user input.

As the present features may be embodied in several forms withoutdeparting from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understoodthat the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of thedetails of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, butrather should be considered broadly within its scope as defined in theappended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fallwithin the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metesand bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Theappearances of such phrases in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within thepurview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sensor package in a refrigerator configured toprovide information to the refrigerator related to refrigerated food,the sensor package comprising: a body having a mark classified by a typeof food allocated to the sensor package and indicating the type of foodof a food to which the sensor package is coupled; a battery thatprovides electric power to the sensor package; an operation switch thatcontrols an operational state of the sensor package and supply of powerfrom the battery; a memory configured to store food informationcorresponding to the type of food corresponding to the mark; a sensorcommunication module that communicates with a display provided in therefrigerator; a sensing module that senses state information associatedwith the food; and a sensor control module that controls the sensorcommunication module to initiate communication between the sensorpackage and the display of the refrigerator based on the stateinformation sensed by the sensing module.
 2. The sensor package of claim1, wherein the sensing module detects information related to atemperature sensed by the sensor package, and the sensor control moduledetects a storage start time point at which the food is added to therefrigerator based on the information related to the detectedtemperature.
 3. The sensor package of claim 2, wherein the sensorcontrol module detects a time point at which the sensed temperaturefalls below a reference temperature value as the storage start timepoint of the food.
 4. The sensor package of claim 2, wherein when achange in temperature is sensed that is greater than or equal to apreset temperature value, the sensor control module detects a time pointat which the change in temperature is sensed as the storage start timepoint of food.
 5. The sensor package of claim 1, wherein the sensingmodule detects an amount of light irradiated on the sensor package, andthe sensor control module detects a storage start time point at whichthe food is added to the refrigerator based on the detected amount oflight.
 6. The sensor package of claim 5, wherein when the amount oflight irradiated on the sensor package is below a reference light amountvalue, the sensor control module detects a time point at which theirradiated amount of light is reduced to below the reference lightamount value as the storage start time point.
 7. The sensor package ofclaim 1, wherein the sensing module detects information related to aweight of an object placed on the sensor package, and the sensor controlmodule detects a storage start time point at which the food is added tothe refrigerator based on information related to the detected weight. 8.The sensor package of claim 7, wherein the sensor control module detectsa time point at which the detected weight is changed by more than apreset weight value as the storage start time point of food.
 9. Thesensor package of claim 1, wherein the display of the refrigeratorincludes a communication unit configured to perform wirelesscommunication with the sensor package, and the sensor control moduledetects a time point at which communication is established between thesensor communication module and the communication unit as a storagestart time point at which the food is added to the refrigerator.
 10. Thesensor package of claim 1, wherein the food information includesinformation related to at least one of a cooking process, a recommendeduse-by date, a recommended storage temperature, or a recommended storagehumidity set for the food.
 11. A refrigerator comprising: a sensor thatsenses state information related to a state of food present within arefrigerator; a memory device that stores information related to thefood; an output device that displays a graphic object related to atleast one of state information sensed by the sensor or food informationstored in the memory device; and a refrigerator controller that setsinformation related to the graphic object by comparing the informationsensed by the sensor and setting information stored in the memorydevice, wherein a mark is disposed on a body of the sensor, the markbeing classified by a type of food allocated to the sensor andindicating the type of food of a food to which the sensor is coupled,and wherein the sensor detects a storage start time point at which thefood is added to the refrigerator, and senses the state information fromthe detected storage start time point.
 12. The refrigerator of claim 11,wherein the sensor detects information related to a temperature of thefood, and the refrigerator controller determines the storage start timepoint based on the detected information related to the temperature. 13.The refrigerator of claim 12, wherein the refrigerator controllerdetects a time point at which the sensed temperature falls below areference temperature value as a storage start time point of food. 14.The refrigerator of claim 12, wherein when a change in temperaturegreater than or equal to a preset temperature value is sensed, therefrigerator controller determines a time point at which the change intemperature is sensed as the storage start time point of the food. 15.The refrigerator of claim 11, wherein the sensor detects an amount oflight irradiated on the sensor, and the refrigerator controllerdetermines the storage start time point based on the detected amount oflight.
 16. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein when the amount oflight irradiated on the sensor is reduced to below a reference lightamount value, the refrigerator controller determines a time point atwhich the irradiated amount of light is reduced to below the referencelight amount value as the storage start time point.
 17. The refrigeratorof claim 11, wherein the sensor detects a weight of an object placed onthe sensor, and the refrigerator controller determines the storage starttime point based on the detected weight.
 18. The refrigerator of claim17, wherein the refrigerator controller determines a time point at whichthe detected weight is changed by more than a preset weight value as thestorage start time point of the food.
 19. The refrigerator of claim 11,further comprising: a communication device configured to performwireless communication with the sensor, and the refrigerator controllerdetects a time point at which communication is established between thesensor and the communication device as the storage start time point ofthe food.
 20. The refrigerator of claim 11, wherein the refrigeratorcontroller controls the output device to output notification informationrelated to the food that is added to the refrigerator at the storagestart time point.